G16PC00037 P00007 Extension Justification Posting_1.pdf

Justification and Approval for Other Than Full and Open Competition

1. Contracting Agency and Activity. The Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Office of Acquisition and Grants - National Acquisition Branch, plans to contract by means other than full and open competition. This document sets forth the justification and approval for use of one of the exceptions to full and open competition allowed under the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) of 1984.

2. Nature of Action Being Approved. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Water Mission Area (WMA), requests award of a non-competitive, sole-source, 7-year contract to Aquatic Informatics Inc. This is a no-cost two-year extension of G16PC00037 which was awarded non-competitively to Aquatic Informatics April 15, 2016.

3. Description of Supplies or Services. The contract will provide for continued Support and Maintenance of the Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) AQUARIUS product family and for further customization of the software as required for the National Water Information System (NWIS) Program within the WMA. AQUARIUS software has replaced NWIS legacy systems used by WMA for the acquisition, processing, analysis, and dissemination of hydrologic data. Implementation of the replacement for the legacy Automated Data Processing System (ADAPS) was completed in FY 2016.

Replacement of the legacy Water-Quality System (QWDATA) is in progress and scheduled to be completed in FY 2022. Other legacy NWIS systems may be replaced with AQUARIUS software over the life of the contract as resources are available.

4. Estimated Dollar Value. $19,950,000.00 The original dollar value remains unchanged. This is a no-cost extension and scope amendment.

5. Statutory Authority. The proposed action may be awarded without full and open competition under 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1) as implemented in FAR 6.302-1.

6. Rationale Supporting Use of Citation in No. 5. Through the competitive request for proposal (RFP) process, the WMA acquired an unlimited license for the AQUARIUS time series software and the option to purchase other related systems and/or pursue contract programming services with the award of contract G12PC00044 to Aquatic Informatics (AI) in September 2012. This contract was replaced by a new sole-source five-year contract (G16PC00037) in April 2015, after the original contract reached its financial ceiling ($10.4 million). The new contract ceiling of $19.95 million is not expected to be reached ($9.1 million expended through four years).

Initially, the contracts were used to replace the legacy ADAPS software system. This system is part of the National Water Information System and is integral to the processing of time-series data, including streamflow and other core network data. In addition to being a critical application in the daily workflow of over 1500 hydrographers within the Water Mission Area, it is integrated as the heart of a complex data processing chain that encompasses satellite and modem telemetry data ingestion through to web data delivery systems. The project to replace ADAPS with AQUARIUS spanned five years and cost over $24 million. These expenses were split 50/50 between contract costs and internal costs. Contract costs ($12 million) were spent on (a) initial licensing, (b) software modifications to support required USGS workflow needs, and (c) annual support. Internal costs ($12 million) were spent on (a) working with the vendor on software modifications, (b) integration of the software into the USGS data processing architecture, (c) IT resources to support testing and implementation, and (d) data migration, rollout, and user training. Since 2017 the USGS continues to spend approximately $1.5 million per year in contract costs to further enhance the software and for annual support.

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In 2018 the decision was made to replace the legacy QWDATA system with AQUARIUS Samples using the existing contract. AQUARIUS Samples is a sister product to the AQUARIUS product that was implemented to replace ADAPS. AQUARIUS Samples is designed to handle data from discrete samples, in contrast to AQUARIUS which handles sensor-based time-series data. QWDATA is the legacy-NWIS system to support the processing and storage of discrete (lab) sample data. As with the time-series system, it is integral to the workflow of WMA hydrographers and must be integrated into a complex data processing chain, including an array of Lab Information Management Systems (LIMS). The modernization project for discrete sample data is expected to conclude approximately one year after this extension is executed. The total cost of the project is estimated at $10.4 million, again split 50/50 between contact and internal expenses. The components of the contract and internal expenses will match those for the original ADAPS replacement project noted above.

The contract currently calls for deployment of AQUARIUS systems/data to USGS managed infrastructure, which remains the target hosting strategy for the AQUARIUS time-series product. In contrast, AQUARIUS Samples has a different optimal approach. AQUARIUS Samples is offered as a vendor-hosted Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) implementation, which is not a choice offered for AQUARIUS Time-Series. An alternatives analysis was conducted that compared the long-term and short-term costs of hosting AQUARIUS Samples on either government-controlled infrastructure or on vendor-controlled infrastructure. These are the only viable operational approaches, as AQUARIUS Samples is a proprietary product and is not available through resellers. The analysis determined that pursuing a strategy of vendor-hosted systems/data provided operational benefit because that option is cheaper and reduces the need for government IT staff to operate AQUARIUS Samples. The analysis concluded that with appropriate technical solutions to ensure that the USGS maintains a full record of all data stored in AQUARIUS Samples, and with a FedRAMP authorization for AQUARIUS Samples, the USGS should pursue the vendor-hosted option.

The government has made a significant investment in the AQUARIUS and AQUARIUS Samples packages to support USGS needs. While the level of investment was unknown at the time of the original contact, the need for this investment was clearly seen in the RFP and the final vendor selection based, in part, on their ability to address these customization needs. The USGS has several requirements which, when combined, make its needs unique in the marketplace. Among these requirements are:

Massive scale (the USGS is, by far, the largest provider of water data in the world) USGS fundamental science practices Water Mission Area data processing policies DOI security and other IT requirements

While there are a limited number of vendors who offer systems that provide the broad data processing requirements of the WMA, any commercial system would require a similar amount of investment to meet the specific needs of the WMA. In addition, any replacement system would require a re-investment in user training and other transition costs. For comparison, the transition from ADAPS to AQUARIUS required over 50 weeklong on-site training classes with approximately1500 attendees. Completion and selection of a new vendor prior to the realization of the return on investment in the current system is not in the financial interest of the USGS.

As was noted in the original request for proposal, “... This is expected to be a once-in-a-generation change and the selected system is expected to have a life well beyond the length of the initial contract.” Vendors were thus clearly informed of the government’s desires and intentions at the time of the original solicitation.

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Note: The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) considers employee signatures to be Personal Protected Information, and therefore all employee signatures have been redacted. By posting this document, the Contracting Officer attests all appropriate signatures have been obtained.

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